Popping

HISTORY

Boogaloo Sam was inspired to create a new style of dance after watching some dancers who were locking on television.  He created Popping, which is a dance that combines rigid robotic moves with loose flowing moves.  Popping came about in the 60’s and started with Boogaloo Sam in Fresno California.  He taught his brother, Popin’ Pete and later his cousin, Skeeter Rabbit how to be poppers.  Boogaloo Sam created the dance group Electric Boogaloos which Poppin’ Pete and Skeeter Rabbit were members of.

 

PEOPLE

 

Boogaloo Sam (Sam Solomon)- Creator of Popping and Electric Boogaloos.

 

 

 

 

Popin’ Pete (Timothy Solomon) – Boogaloo Sam’s little brother.  One of the orignators of Popping.  Member of the Electric Boogaloos.

 

 

 

Skeeter Rabbit (Stephen NIchols) – Boogaloo Sam and Popin’ Pete’s Cousin.  Another member of the Electric Boogaloos.

 

 

 

 

Mr. Wiggles (Steffan Clemente) – pioneer of hip-hop dance.   Street dancer known for his popping skills.  Member of the Electric Boogaloos.

 

 

 

Boogaloo Shrimp (Michael Chambers) – Street dancer known for popping, boogaloo and robot dancing.  Also known for b-boying.

 

 

 

 

Salah Benlemqawanssa – hip hop dancer from France known for popping, animation and boogaloo.

 

TERMS

Boogaloo – A style of dance where the dancer tries to give the impression that their body is lacking bones.  The dance is loose, fluid and mimics  cartoons or animated movies.  The dance involves circular rolls of hips, knees, and head.  Developed by Boogaloo Sam in 1975 and is the signature style of the Electric Boogaloos.

 

Dime Stopping – Abruptly coming to a stop after moving at a steady pace as if to “stop on a dime.”

 

Popper  – one who dances the popping style.

 

MOVES

Animation

Bopping

Botting (Robot)

Crazy Legs

Hit

Miming

Pop

Puppet

Strobing

Ticking

Waving

MUSIC

Popping is typically danced to Funk and Disco music.  In the 80’s poppers would dance to electronic music or hiop hop music.  Today we see poppers dance to a variety of genres of music including dubstep.  Typically songs will be around 90-120 beats per minute and in 4/4 time signature.

FUTURE

Popping is often used in other styles of street dance in combination with other dance moves.  The dance has been around for a long time and people are still dedicated to dancing in this style.  The dance has changed slightly with new poppers dancing with the same moves to newer music.  It seems as if this dance will never go out of style.

 

The roots are so strong and go back to the 60’s and 70’s.  I think since the dance has been around this long, it isn’t going to disappear anytime soon.  With legends like Mr. Wiggles and Poppin’ Pete this style of dance will never be forgotten.  It has made it’s mark in time.  Dancers of all genres will continue to be inspired by popping and use it’s fundamentals to incorporate into their dance moves.

27 comments

  1. Fresco

    The moves are styles but popping is the umbrella term…ppl with call them self’s strutters or animators if that’s what they do… But Sam didn’t create popping only the eb style. Popping started in oakland then went south but different parts of cali developed different styles like pamona did waves

  2. Aldo Stefano Moreno

    This is false information. The Electric Boogaloo crew did not create the dance style of Poppin. Being that the creation of Poppin was created during an era when cameras were not in the reach of our pockets, eye witness testimonies attest that The Electric Boogaloo crew not create Poppin. Here is a documentary of eye witnesses, along with the Beneath The Surface documentary videos on Vimeo.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eENaYk5j1hU&list=PLG8q79bx5WPIbUZD6Fz42VhG0JrDP4xvy&index=2

    Lastly, I recommend going to Facebook and search a group called WHAT’S POPIN

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